Nathaniel HawthorneNathaniel Hawthorne, a brilliant author of American history, wrote many short stories and novels, including "The Scarlet Letter". Hester Prynne, the adulteress of Salem becomes an outcast after her sin becomes public knowledge. Minister Dimmesdale, the secret father of Hester's baby, leads a life of deceit and lies. Hawthorne uses the dual figure of sinner and savior to describe Dimmesdale's life. To begin the novel, Hawthorne provides evidence of why Dimmesdale is a sinner when Arthur begs Hester to tell him who the father of her child might be. "Hester Prynne," he said, leaning over the balcony and looking her straight in the eye, "you have heard what this good man says, and see the responsibility under which I labor. If you think it is for the peace of your soul, and that your earthly punishment be thus made more effectual for salvation, I command you to speak the name of that their companion in sin and suffering. Do not be silent for any false pity and tenderness for him because, believe me, Hester, even if he descended from a high place and stood there beside you, on your pedestal of shame, it would be better this way than to hide a guilty heart all your life What can your silence do for him, but tempt him - has he granted you an open ignominy, so that you may obtain an open triumph over the evil within you and the pain without. Be careful how you deny to those who, perhaps, do not have the courage to grasp it themselves bitter, but healthy, the cup that is now presented to your lips!" (page 46-47). Dimmesdale himself is a hypocrite. He asks Hester to take her fellow sinner with her to the scaffold, but the sinner is already there. He knows that if he publicly admits his sin, the town of Salem will begin a downward spiral because he represents the Puritan church and all of its beliefs. Later in the novel, in Dimmesdales' second appearance on the scaffold, he confesses his sin. Hester but no one else. “Come here, Hester, you and little Pearl,” said the Reverend Dimmesdale. "You have been here before, but I was not with you. Come here once more, and we will all three be together!" (page 105).